EE beats O2 and Vodafone on 4G speeds

EE is delivering the fastest 4G network with LTE speeds nearly a third faster than rivals O2 and Vodafone, according to a study by mobile performance company Rootmetrics.

The study found that EE had speeds 30% faster than its rival networks in London. The UK’s largest network had average download speeds of 29.6Mbps compared with O2’s 23.3 and 20.8Mbps from Vodafone.

The mobile performance research company conducted over 11,000 test over 310 miles of the capital and found Vodafone had slightly more indoor coverage than O2 with almost 70% compared with 63.9%.

EE also leads the way when testing blended 3G and 4G, with top an average download speed of 22.7Mbps compared with O2’s 16.3Mbps and Vodafone’s 16.2Mbps. O2 and Vodafone launched their 4G propositions only last month, while EE first launched its service last November, and now covers over 100 towns and cities.

Bill Moore, CEO and president of RootMetrics: ‘This first look at London’s 4G services bodes well for the new providers and, more importantly, for people who chose to sign up. EE has had the best part of a year to cement its place and remains the speed leader, but the early signs for O2 and Vodafone are very positive, especially when it comes to 4G availability. This is all good news for the consumer as uploading your pictures or downloading content on the move will become quicker and quicker as coverage expands and improves.’

An O2 spokesperson said: 'It is encouraging to see such positive results from RootMetrics’ tests. We launched 4G only last month to 5 million people and are working hard to complete our rollout as quickly as possible. Our ambitious rollout plan means we are able to make our superfast 4G network available to an additional two million people per month, which will culminate in O2’s 2G, 3G and 4G network reaching 98% of the UK population both indoor and outdoor.

'To allow as many people as possible to experience and enjoy the benefits of 4G, our tariffs come complete with a 90 day Happiness Guarantee for customers who sign up direct from O2 and there’s 12 months free music content for those who buy a 4G consumer tariff direct. Next generation office applications and services powered by 4G will enable O2 business customers to be more collaborative, more efficient and more productive with tariffs for tablets, mobile broadband and Mobile Wifi (Pop Up Office).'